When communications via a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) site fail or degrade, the site owner/operator typically dispatches a technician to diagnose and correct the problem. When initial diagnosis indicates that site components are likely faulty, the owner/operator sends replacement parts to the site. Because known diagnostic tools and techniques limit the dispatcher's ability to precisely isolate faulty components absent a trial-and-error swapping-out of suspect parts, the owner/operator sometimes sends a number of different replacement parts and instructs the dispatcher to return any parts that are ultimately deemed unnecessary for site repair. This back-and-forth treatment of spare components not only drives up shipping costs for the owner/operator, but also forces the owner/operator to expend resources in testing whether returned equipment is suitable for future use—even though such equipment may have been returned by a dispatcher without the dispatcher ever having removed it from its packaging.